If you’re a racing fan, your time has come — and no, we’re not talking about the upcoming NASCAR drama TV show. The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Championship is upon us, and the final race of the season — and the year’s biggest honor — will put the best competitors of the iconic league in a head-to-head bout for the winning title.
But before the final battle, they competed in the first two major championship races, part of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. It started at the Cup Series race titled YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama on October 25, where the winning margin was pretty slim. From there, the racers moved north to participate in the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia, on November 1, which this time had a much wider margin.
Now, the Straight Talk Wireless 400 is up for grabs, and there are many worthy racers who will be vying for the recognition. As the top racing series for the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, this prestigious event goes back over 75 years to 1949, when it started as the Strictly Stock Division. The series’ legacy is strong, but with this 2026 Cup Series Championship race, it is sure to expand as some truly talented drivers take the front seat. Excited to tune in and see the race as it’s run? You can catch it on NBC, NBC’s official website, the NBC Sports app, Hulu, Peacock, or internet-based live TV services.
When is the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Championship?
This year’s NASCAR Cup Series Championship will take place today, Sunday, November 8, with the event kicking off at 3 p.m. Eastern Time and 12 p.m. Pacific Time. The final bout of the season has typically always been held in November and taken place on a Sunday in the modern era of NASCAR.
That said, the deciding body behind NASCAR isn’t afraid to switch schedules around if necessary. In 2020, the race that was previously the championship race was moved all the way up to March (before being delayed until June due to the COVID-19 pandemic), which meant that particular event would no longer be the final bout of the season. The penultimate race on the schedule, which took place at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona, became the new championship race as a result of the change.
Where is the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Championship?
The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Championship will be taking place at the Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida, which marks the first time the season finale bout will take place at this particular track since 2019. From 2020 to 2025, the championship race took place at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona.
Before the Phoenix Raceway stint, the finale event had been held at the Homestead-Miami Speedway since 2002. The racetrack had hosted other NASCAR races throughout the season prior to 2002 but became the hub for the championship at that time. Prior to that, the final race of the season was held at venues like Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia — where the championship was held many times over the years — and the New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon, where the bout was held in 2001.
Interestingly enough, the future of the Cup Series at Homestead-Miami Speedway is shifting a bit as the competition returns to one of its core venues. Starting next year, the championship weekend races will rotate between a few selected tracks, which will allow the organization to bring the live festivities to different venues and different sets of fans each year, like the Super Bowl.
Where can you watch the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Championship?
You have a few options if you’re looking to catch the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Championship live. First, basic cable is your best friend because the race will be broadcast live on NBC starting at 3 p.m. Eastern Time. All three final NASCAR Cup Series races have been broadcast live live television thus far, you’ll only need to return to the same channel to catch this one
If you don’t have access to basic cable, there’s always internet-based live TV services, such as Sling TV, YouTube TV, and Fubo, which offer access to NBC in many markets based on your location. Additionally, Hulu’s live television option also offers access to NBC, and fans can watch the race live on Peacock
Audiences can also access a livestream of the event through NBC’s official website or the NBC Sports app, which is available for iOS and Android devices, as well as Roku, Amazon, and other internet-based TV devices. Watching through the network’s livestream or app requires you to log in to your cable provider, while internet-based live TV services, and platforms like Hulu and Peacock, require a paid subscription in order to watch.
Who is competing in the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Championship?
The roster of drivers competing for the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Championship is full of key racers and top performers in the league, though the format of how riders advance to the postseason bouts has shifted slightly. Under new rules as of 2026, only the top 16 drivers qualify for what’s called The Chase, which is the league’s 10-race postseason competition for the championship.
This year, the competing drivers include the 2026 Talladega winner Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe, Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Tyler Reddick, Chase Elliott, Austin Cindric, Ty Gibbs, Carson Hocevar, 2026 Martinsville winner William Byron, Bubba Wallace, Ryan Preece, Chris Buescher, and Daniel Suárez. Each competitor represents both a team and a car manufacturer. Hendrick Motorsports, Spire Motorsports, RFK Racing, Team Penske, 23XI Racing, and Joe Gibbs Racing are represented here on the teams side, while Toyota, Ford, and Chevrolet are represented on the manufacturers side.
That said, not every competitor makes it to the final bout. On November 3, Hocevar was suspended by Spire for misconduct against Austin Cindric on the track during the Martinsville Speedway event on November 1. During the race, Hocevar brake-checked in front of Cindric several times, causing him to end the race incomplete. As a result, Hocevar was fined, received a 25-point deduction penalty, and was removed from the finale race roster. Justin Haley will represent Spire in his place at Homestead.
Who is favored to win the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Championship?
The driver favored to win the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Championship is none other than Kyle Larson following the second of the final three Cup Series races. After the race at Talladega Superspeedway on October 25 and the race at Martinsville Speedway on November 1, Larson is holding the top spot in the driver rankings, which makes him the leading contender for the championship at this point. He didn’t have as good a showing at Martinsville as he did at Talladega, which he won, but it wasn’t terrible either with an ultimate ranking of ninth place. Either way, he’s firmly in the lead at this point, and he can secure the title with a 28th-place finish at Homestead.
Larson has a 67-point lead after the Martinsville race, which gives him a comfortable margin to secure the title, but it isn’t cut and dry. Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin are trailing him in second and third place currently, with Hamlin favored to win the Homestead-Miami finale race itself. That said, it’s anyone’s race right now, but if Larson pulls out all the stops, he’ll easily take home the victory for the entire championship at minimum, if not the final race as well.
Who won the NASCAR Cup Series in 2025?
Last year’s NASCAR Cup Series Championship was won by one of this year’s leading drivers, Kyle Larson. He placed third in the final race at Phoenix Raceway and was awarded the Cup Series Championship title with a total score of 5034 points.
That said, winning (or not winning) any one race doesn’t get you (or lose you) the championship on its own, as each race win — and subsequent places behind first place — is assigned a point value. The tallied cumulative points for each racer, based on their performances throughout the season — including races like the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona — determines the winner of the championship, not a single win or, specifically, a win at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Several other familiar faces who are competing this year also received major accolades following the 2025 championship bout. Denny Hamlin finished in second place behind Larson by only three points, with a close score of 5031, and Chase Briscoe rounded out the top three in third place with 5019 points. William Byron came in fourth place in the championship standings with 5004 points, but the rest of the drivers in last year’s top 16 scored only within the 2000-point range, showing a clear points gap between the top four drivers and the rest of the championship competitors.
